BY JACOB SZETO

PORTLAND- Portland Public Schools (PPS) and the Portland Association of Teachers union have come to a tentative collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but the public will not be allowed to see it until it is approved by both the district and the union.

This agreement will run for three years, retroactive to July 2009. Among the items governed by this contract are pay raises, work hours, cost of living adjustments, and fringe benefits such as medical insurance.

Although the public is not allowed to see the tentative agreement, in the final PPS proposal, teachers will receive pay raises of three to five percent for each of the three years. They will also receive cost of living increases; two percent for last year, zero this year and one percent for teachers at the top of the pay scale next year.

According to the proposal, the school district will continue paying for 93 percent of medical, dental and vision insurance costs for teachers, their dependents and partners. The district will also pay for five years of healthcare premiums for eligible early retirees and half the cost of premiums for their spouses.

Amongst some of the odder benefits contained in the PPS final proposal is a bonus system for teachers who give written notice if they are quitting or transferring. If a teacher gives written notice by February 15^th, they will receive $1,250; if notice is given by March 15^th, $700; and if given by April 15^th, they will receive a bonus of $500.

According to Rick Liebman, the PPS spokesperson for the negotiations, the tentative agreement is not published so that “the union has a chance to explain it to their members.” He says there is no law to prevent publishing the tentative agreement and calls it “just good practice.”

Liebman also noted that generally the union members are provided a copy of the agreement, which inevitably leaks to the press. The union will vote on the agreement today and the district will presumably vote during the next scheduled meeting on March 8th. This leaves 11 days for the agreement to leak to the press and for unofficial examination by the public.

When asked to comment on the policy of not publishing the proposed contract, John Charles, President of the Cascade Policy Institute (OP’s parent organization) stated, “Without transparency in the process that allows citizens to examine the contract being proposed for approval, there is no way to impose fiscal discipline. We get to review the costs of bond measures before they are voted on; why can’t we see personnel contracts that are responsible for 80% of the total operations costs of schools?”

When asked how the taxpayers are represented during negotiations, Liebman explained that they are represented during the formal negotiations; but he concedes little is accomplished during these meetings, with the bulk of the progress happening during the meetings the public is barred from attending.

Liebman doesn’t disagree with the principle that taxpayers should be represented at the closed-door negotiations and allowed to see the proposed contract; he just doesn’t believe transparency is practical because it may hinder the frank communication that can occur without the public watching.